Dear Editor,

I am delighted to have read Ms. Bernadette Indira Persaud's letter captioned "An outdated myth of West Indian identity" (25.7.200l) which criticized the Stabroek News editorial captioned "Dinosaurs in the fading light' (4.7.200l)(SN 7/04) for its note on the supposedly last days of the "West Indian identity," and Ms. Persaud's view of it in the "context of a mainstream newspaper whose columnists regularly bombard its readers about the wonders...of their European heritage..."

The Europeans have succeeded by getting half of us not to think, and the other half to think "of" them since we were, supposedly, incapable of thinking "like" them. Dante, we must remember, included the Prophet Mohammed (peace be unto him), in one of his circles of Hell, the eternal torture chamber for being, yes, a Muslim. Shakespeare rewrote many of "his" plays that were done originally by the Italians and unlike Africa or India, England borrowed much of its "culture" from the Greco-Roman tradition. In writing, overt references to famous thinkers is always a sign of a writer who is in need of external help to buttress his/her arguments.

More important is the fact that this "West Indian identity," as Ms. Persaud noted by quoting Naipaul, usually means "one particular group." Of course, there are two interpretations to this line; the first suggests that all the diverse categories of cultures (Amerindian, etc.) are jumbled up in one, thus losing each group's individual significance. The other, which comes from the first, means that this "one" group is Black. This idea was dramatised by Viv Richards in the 80s when he declared the West Indies Cricket Team to be an "African" team. Under this West Indian identity, even the descendants of the original settlers of this region, the Caribs and Arawaks, are ignored.

In the older days, organizations such as the West Indian Federation (which Dr. Jagan rightfully refused to support) and the League of Coloured Peoples were, despite their canvassing names, essentially in favor of Blacks.

I hope Ms. Persaud will continue to write more.